Biography

Born in Wakefield, now living in Wigan.
First collection published in 2013 'A Step Towards Winter', with a second collection published in 2016 'Cycle Of The Scarecrow'.
Performance poet who enjoys writing about anything and everything - usually with a dark twist.
Member of the Black Horse Poets in Wakefield - awarded the title of 'Black Horse Poet Of The Year' in 2015
Performs & Records poetry/music under the name THE CROWS OF ALBION
Recently formed BARD COMPANY - a Performance Poetry Group with fellow poets & WOL contributors Jefferama, Gordon Zola and Tony Kinsella + Spin off poetry/music/political duo BARD 2 THE BONE with Jeffarama.
Regular attendee at the marvellous Write Out Loud open mic sessions at the Old Courts in Wigan
GIGS:
SUN OCT 21 RADIO INTERVIEW – 5 Towns Radio (from 4pm)
SAT OCT 27 MUSIC SET – Jackanory, Westgate Studios, WAKEFIELD (2.00pm)
SAT OCT 27 BARD COMPANY - We Shall Overcome, Station Hotel, ASHTON UNDER LYNE (7.00pm)
SUN NOV 04 MUSIC SET – Still In The War Boys – Old Courts, WIGAN (1.00pm)
SUN NOV 04 MUSIC SET –Still In The War Boys – Socialist Club, BOLTON (7.00pm)
WED NOV 07 MUSIC SET – Still In The War Boys – Wilfred Owen Festival, Cricket Club, OSWESTRY (7.00pm)
FRI NOV 09 MUSIC SET – Still In The War Boys – Red Shed, WAKEFIELD (7.00pm)
SUN NOV 11 BARD COMPANY – The War Poets – Parish Church Hall, BURY (12.30pm)
SAT DEC 08 BARD COMPANY – The Defiance Sessions – Labour Club, GLOSSOP (7.00pm)
FRI DEC 14 BARD COMPANY – The Snug Café, ATHERTON (7.00pm)
FRI JAN 18 MUSIC SET – Red Shed, WAKEFIELD (7.00pm)
FRI JAN 25 MUSIC SET – The Snug Café,
ATHERTON (7.00pm)
SAT JAN 26 MUSIC SET – Socialist Club,
BOLTON (7.00pm)
FRI FEB 01 MUSIC SET – Station Hotel,
ASHTON UNDER LYNE (7.00pm)
SAT APR 06 MUSIC SET- Saddleworth Literary Festival,
Date/Venue/Time TBC, SADDLEWORTH
SUN MAY 05 BARD COMPANY 0161 Festival –
Venue/Time TBC, MANCHESTER
MORE DATES WILL BE ADDED SHORTLY
ACTIVELY SEEKING POETRY BOOKINGS - SO PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
WEBSITE - featuring poetry, music, performance, gallery and gig dates: http://www.thecrowsofalbion.com/
Bard Company website: http://whiteleyian.wixsite.com/bard-company
music CD's available now:
THE CROWS OF ALBION - POETIC LICENSE - 18 tracks over 70 minutes for only £5
THE CROWS OF ALBION - STILL IN THE WAR BOYS - 21 tracks over 80 minutes for only £5 - the history of World War 1 from Declaration to Armistice
THE CROWS OF ALBION - HERE THERE BE DEMONS - 18 tracks over 75 minutes - for just £5
BARD COMPANY - ALL SYSTEMS GO! - 15 tracks over 45 minutes - just £6
THE CROWS OF ALBION - SCREAMING BLUE MURDER 16 tracks over 60 minutes - £5
- to hear a sample of some of the tracks, please visit my SOUNDCLOUD page here:
https://soundcloud.com/the-man-at-the-back-1
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD of albums (£5 or £0.50 per track) available here: http://thecrowsofalbion.bandcamp.com/releases
ALSO AVAILABLE:
60 page poetry collection (book)'A STEP TOWARDS WINTER' for £5
124 page poetry collection (book) ' CYCLE OF THE SCARECROW' for £6
CD's & Books- available at all gigs or by email contact.
To view some of my performances - please visit my YOUTUBE PAGE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytAVhsFTTdxE2LAKYV2ZoA

Samples

The Devil Don’t Own Me
He may have saluted the corrupted cross
In Hitler’s Germany,
or whispered to Judas Iscariot,
hanging from a tree,
he could have pulled the trigger finger
back in nineteen sixty three,
he may own the soul of rock and roll
but the Devil don’t own me.
He may pollute the air we breath
or the raging, deep blue, sea.
He may breath on polar ice caps
on his subtle killing spree.
He may steal food from starving children
or the hope from you and me,
he may arm the fights of acolytes
but the Devil don’t own me.
He may own the greedy bankers
and the false economy,
the fascist newspaper owners
in the lands of liberty,
he may own the cops and robbers,
he may strive to set them free
from the laws they place upon us -
but the Devil don’t own me
He was at the witches coven,
looking for his fee,
when the British Government
compacted with the DUP.
He locked their morals in blood
and threw away the key.
The devil owns the country
but the devil don’t own me.
He may own the halls of government
and the sly, dark powers that be,
the state run institutions,
he may own the state TV,
he may control what we hear,
he may control what we see,
the Devil may be media savvy
but the devil don’t own me.
He owned the Milk Snatcher
and the Grey Man forking peas,
the Jolly Sailor Boy
and the Bullingdon Club bullies.
He was in the wrong line at Orgreave
urging on the young PC’s.
Yes the Devil sides with devils
but the Devil don’t own me

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.

Comments

Hi Ian, thanks for your response to my response 😀 I suppose that could go on endlessy, and why not? it’s good to talk. In many ways what you have said about soldiers being happy to be remembered whatever the colour of the petals, is what I was getting at. I think many soldiers would be happy to be remembered reverently and possibly quite silently, I sense many would not appreciate the clattering drums and blasting pipes, especially considering the crescendo and hell of their possible final hours. Who knows, and I can certainly only speak for myself on this, although I have spoken to many who reinforce that idea. Obviously there is a need for national remembrance and who am I to decide how that may be done? apart from being a surviving grunt of course. I just know I would never wear a medal or put on a uniform to attend such a parade if I ever went to one (which I will not be doing) of course I do wear a poppy (for one day only) Remembrance is for the dead and the suffering survivors of all nations (in my mind at least) not for the showing of regimental colours and medals. I find that indulgence distracting and somehow wallowing. And yes I have a string of medals, all lost in drawers and in the bottom of kit bags, they have no value whatsoever for me. I think this is an attitude many simply cannot conceive, which in itself speaks of an absence of understanding. All must be able to imagine when it comes to art that is what art is in its purest form for me, there has been a glut of poetry regarding remembrance this year, as it is the centenary of WW1 I am not surprised. Unfortunately for me so much of it has seemed voyeuristic in nature, that too is not unusual although it is disturbing to me when it is presented en masse as it seems to have been this year. I am in the fortunate/unfortunate position to be able draw on my own experiences of conflict and to have felt able to relate them through a medium of bad poetry and questionable prose, something I would not wish upon any other person but which I myself refuse to shy away from for the comfort of others. It would be refreshing to see the poetry of imagination suggest alternate images other than poppy fields and the same old churned out funereal inevitable imagery, I would have thought some of us living in this age might be able to translate our musings into hope of some sort. I will be attempting this myself hopefully in future. I very much appreciate your concluding words in what you have written Ian. I am very fortunate that besides Captain Jamesons I have a good network of people to sustain me during my now infrequent wobbles. Thanks again and have no doubt that whatever my misgivings may be about how we remember I would never deny anyones right to do it in whatever way they thought appropriate, or to write about it and express their emotions on it likewise. All the best mate.

cheers Sal - and thanks for the great review - I genuinely do write everything as poems first - and then take a big pile of paper into the studio and think 'what the fuck am I going to do with this'
Ian

Big Sal

Sat 13th Oct 2018 19:58

Good to see you going strong with the music, and keeping up the vibe!

I always thought that was great how you transitioned the poems over to song format.

great to see you still going strong. Just wanted to pop by and share my appreciation of Be-Bop Deluxe.

Mate I saw them at De-Montfort Halls in Leicester, must have been the 70's. I was a huge fan of Bill Nelson, though he was very strange, even enjoyed his subsequent solo projects, in truth though he was Be-bop.

Anyway thought I might share one of my favourite pieces of theirs with you, the guitar solo is sublime, and I am sure you appreciate the title and sentiment of this amazing piece of music.

I hope you still have many adventures in a Yorkshire landscape ahead of you, enjoy mate.

Hi Ian - welcome back.
From a UK's point of view, fascism has never taken real
root in the public consciousness. The likes of Moseley and
William Joyce were more often viewed with derision and
a healthy distrust/distaste. The strutting was never likely
to be popular here with so many absolute power kings and
dictators to call upon, allied to a sense of humour that
can drive the uninitiated potty!
Far more insidious perhaps was the far left secretive POV
that saw traitors and their sympathisers consorting in
Cambridge and/or in unsuspecting trusting high society,
suddenly to come to wider public attention when their unexpected departure for "unfriendly shores" signalled something amiss...when not attending to the Queen's
collection of art works, of course. 😌

Hello Ian - apropos your note on my profile page - I accept
your point. It is my point that the extremism which often
features in ideologies is the real enemy, whether on the
left or right of the political spectrum - and it is this that
causes so much suffering. The lingering suspicion (for me)
is that prior to the knowledge of what was going on behind
the Iron Curtain - and has happened since in Cambodia
and elsewhere, this extremism was largely refuted or
ignored in the hurry to place fascism at the forefront of
the foes threatening humanity. Now, we are all that much
more aware - and a good thing too.
Cheers.

<Deleted User> (13762)

Thu 21st Jun 2018 19:29

Hi Ian, thanks for the explanation about 'Strange Fruit'. Glad to hear you had a relaxing internet free holiday. It's good to switch off every now and then but I have to admit I find it hard. All the best, Col.

Hi Ian - thanks for the response about "We are the Dead"
on my profile page. I didn't assume it was about you...
more an "Ode to Opportunities Missed When Alive" from
my own POV.
The sweep of those is such that most of us are content/
sentenced to settle for less, relishing simpler things.
When I mentioned "response" in my opening line, it was
meant that the extent of the comprehensive content
was something of a challenge in that wider context and
might obtain comment(s) accordingly...nothing more.
By the way - I like "Bard Company" as a title. It reminds
me of "Bad Company" - a Western from some years ago
about youth falling prey to the same.
Good to note your busy future performance schedule.
Cheers

Thanks for getting in touch. My apologies for commenting rather too directly on your piece "We are the dead" I don't think I meant it to be directed at you the author, but reading it back it certainly seems so, and that was careless if not a little thoughtless of me. I must admit I did revisit what I wrote, and thought I had been a little harsh and possibly preachy, so thanks for giving me the opportunity for redressing that. Now you have explained how you wrote it, it is completely obvious to me, and I do enjoy the poem.

Thanks for putting me straight and taking the time to do so.

PS, I do read and enjoy your work even though I have not commented regularly.

Hi Ian, back again for further comment . The poem you wrote certainly engendered a lot of discussion. You have pointed out a very good point about singer songwriters getting paid but not a poet. This is obviously a right liberty. I am a muso but choose not to sing - as I find the average offering full of bile and remorse and self pity and all the negatives of life. Why pay to hear that? I find also a lot of poetry hard to listen to back to back in open mike because of distractions - soda siphons, etc.
If there is money to be made, yes hand it out. Personally I don't expect to make money but that's not an opinion that's a fact. Cheers for now!!

Thanks for your note on Majority too - aye, had thought of a couple of the lines when I found out about the majority, and it bloody lashed it down all day. Then that 'blue collar' shit's all over the radio and they're banging on about job numbers being up when in reality it's just one job divvied up into 4 zero hours contract jobs. Spitting mad. Looking forward to the one that I can hear forming in your head ha :)

Thanks for y'note on me tree pome :) I was having a bit of a go at Wordsworth's idea that we lose our 'visionary gleam' when we get older. Remember I mentioned it in The Raven that time? Anyway, fuck Wordsworth :D

Masks have a hard time getting past the eyes, or the knuckles: they speak clearly. I'm trying to find an old Christmas one of my own. I know it's tucked away somewhere. Pity I can't quote it from memory; I'm just plain terrible like that.

Good to hear you are so active with your war
poem project/recordings. You are in good
company. My brother recently gave me a double
CD by "Show of Hands" with music and poems of
"The Great War", the latter read by Jim Carter
and his wife Imelda Staunton. The Sunday Express gave it a big thumbs up!

good stuff mate appreciated my music taste is very diverse and wide ranging (dance to dvorak or dependent on the day blues to buffalo) and currently listening on soundcloud ;-)given that im not too prolific in my offerings im not on here as often as i might be but i shall continue to frequent from time to time and have a read (and a listen) keep on keeping on :-)